Page 3807 - Week 12 - Thursday, 29 October 2015
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Thursday, 29 October 2015
MADAM SPEAKER (Mrs Dunne) took the chair at 10 am and asked members to stand in silence and pray or reflect on their responsibilities to the people of the Australian Capital Territory.
Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) (Taxi Industry Innovation) Amendment Bill 2015
Mr Barr, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Urban Renewal and Minister for Tourism and Events) (10.02): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
Today, I am introducing the Road Transport (Public Passenger Services) (Taxi Industry Innovation) Amendment Bill 2015, which I have developed with the minister assisting on transport reform, Minister Rattenbury. We are very pleased to introduce this bill into the Assembly this week, as a tangible step towards realising the government’s strategic transport vision for Canberra and as part of our public transport improvement plan.
Public transport goes much further than just buses and light rail. Almost every day new and innovative ways to undertake passenger travel are presenting themselves, both in markets here in Australia and abroad. They include new methods of booking, tracking and paying for taxi services. They also include “ride sharing”, which involves providing on-demand travel services for a fare, primarily through the use of private cars.
These innovative services, and those that will follow, some of which have not even yet been contemplated, present a major opportunity to broaden the range of reliable, safe and accessible transport services for Canberra residents. Hand in hand with this, they also encourage existing businesses to modernise, to review their service and to compete more vigorously in the marketplace. When this happens, the great beneficiaries are consumers, who will, in turn, have access to even greater service value propositions.
My government is all about providing the consumer with more affordable, safe and efficient transport options. From the beginning of this year we started engaging with the community about the future of on-demand transport in the territory. We released a discussion paper that asked specific questions and, through a public consultation phase, the government listened to Canberrans and learnt about how so many of them wanted new ways to travel, new ways to book that travel and new ways to pay for that travel.
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